


Finger-Comb

by TerrifiedAristocrat



Category: AFK Arena (Video Game)
Genre: Grooming, Hair Brushing, M/M, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Tenderness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-08
Updated: 2019-09-08
Packaged: 2020-10-12 21:14:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20571002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TerrifiedAristocrat/pseuds/TerrifiedAristocrat
Summary: Surrounded by Lighbringers, Brutus relies on Lucius for the kind of after-battle care only trusted comrades can provide.





	Finger-Comb

Victory always felt like a sun glowing inside Lucius’ skin. He enjoyed the feeling, letting that high carry him along even though he knew his limbs ached and his bones throbbed. He stumbled to his tent to get out of his armor, perhaps go to the nearby town’s bathhouse and take a long soak in the hottest bath he could stand.

Lucius was halfway through undoing his armor when he heard a strange noise outside his tent. He frowned, setting his chestplate down on his armor stand and peeked outside his tent to see Brutus pacing outside his tent, tense with his tail whipping behind him in an agitated manner.

Brutus was away from his Mauler kin for this push against the Hypogeans, and having been in a similar situation, Lucius sympathized.

“Are you alright?” he asked easily, reaching out to put a hand on the huge Mauler’s shoulder. Brutus froze for a moment, exhaling air in a kind of huff and glancing to the side.

“No,” he muttered. “Do I look alright?”

“Not in the slightest, friend,” Lucius shook his head. “How can I help?”

Brutus gave Lucius a sidelong look, perhaps of suspicion. Lucius understood and took a half-step back, raising his hands. He was too tired to fight anyways, and was of the opinion that they really should be pooling their resources to battle Hypogeans, not each other. After a long and judging gaze, Brutus sighed and slumped his shoulders.

“After battle we Maulers... fix each other up,” he muttered finally, his voice a low rumble almost like a growl, but more petulant sounding. “As I am alone here surrounded by you Lightbringers...”

“Like patching up injuries?” Lucius asked.

“Grooming,” Brutus corrected Lucius. Lucius blinked at Brutus, looking at him seriously- his mane was disheveled, dried blood crusted in various areas. He could do for a soak in a bath too, but Lucius had a more immediate solution.

“I can help you with that, if you would like,” Lucius suggested. Brutus leveled Lucius with a serious look, heavy in its intensity, and nodded. Lucius stepped to the side and gestured for Brutus to enter his tent. Brutus did so and Lucius followed him inside. “If it’s alright, I’d like to finish taking off my armor-”

“It’s fine,” Brutus waved Lucius’ concern away, turning to the side to give Lucius some privacy. Lucius smiled softly at the consideration and changed quickly, tying his hair back and grabbing his brush.

“Here, sit down,” Lucius nudged Brutus to a padded bench Lucius had in his tent. Brutus sat down with furrowed brows as Lucius began brushing through his mane slowly. The mane had a whole lot of snarls and knots, and Lucius worked through each one slowly and carefully. It wasn’t too much different from brushing out Belinda’s hair anyways. Lucius hummed at the memory, stroking the fur as he brushed it and definitely not missing how Brutus’s eyes closed slowly, how his muscles seemed to slow their jumping under the Mauler’s skin. Lucius fought the urge to praise Brutus for holding still- he was an ally, a fellow warrior, not a child or a kitty cat.

Lucius finished brushing out Brutus’ mane and silently fetched a basin of clean water and a cloth- the sun had set and Lucius was pretty sure he wasn’t going to make it to the bathhouse in time before it closed, so he’d have to suffice with a sponge bath. So was Brutus.

“You don’t have to go that far, I’ve calmed down,” Brutus rumbled.

“I want to,” Lucius replied stubbornly.

“Why?” Brutus demanded. Lucius furrowed his brows at that question and instead dipped a cloth into the basin of water and squeezed out excess water.

“I’m not going to leave you half-groomed,” Lucius explained. “Hold still-”

Brutus huffed but remained seated, letting Lucius clean him off. Lucius was surprised Brutus stayed as still as he did, but took pleasure in slowly buffing out dried blood from his fellow warrior’s fur. As he worked, he heard a low rumble coming off of Brutus like rolling thunder and smiled. Lucius focused on cleaning Brutus off so much he didn’t quite notice Brutus move until he felt a heavy hand on his head, claw-tipped fingers running through his hair carefully, making it spill out of its hair tie. Lucius shivered and leaned into the touch a little.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“You think I’d let you groom me without returning the favor?” Brutus rumbled, carefully combing through Lucius’ hair with his fingers.

“I wasn’t expecting anything-”

“As expected, Lightbringers have no semblance of manners,” Brutus huffed, picking Lucius up as if he was a sack of flour. Lucius yelped until he was settled on Brutus’ lap. “Sit still, you squirm worse than a cub,”

Lucius had no response to that, his face heating up at being in Brutus’ lap for Dura’s sake- but he did relax as Brutus grabbed the brush Lucius was using earlier and started brushing out his hair. Brutus was really good at it too- the bristles scraped across Lucius’ scalp just right, causing him to lean back into his touch. A warm and delightfully solid arm curled around Lucius’ waist to keep him in one place as exhaustion from the previous battle began to creep up on Lucius.

“I’m so used to seeing you on the battlefield,” Brutus remarked into Lucius’ ear, closer than Lucius thought. He jumped a little. “And here you are, practically asleep on my lap,”

“You were purring earlier,” Lucius pointed out hazily, leaning back a little. Brutus was warm, warmer than any bath Lucius wanted to take earlier and he was going to enjoy it as long as he could.

“Was not,” Brutus muttered.

“Was too!” Lucius grinned. “I know what purrs sound like. Yours sounded like thunder,”

“....I won’t tell if you don’t,” Brutus muttered.

“Stay here,” Lucius ordered, twisting so he could look at Brutus. The Mauler looked a little flustered, trying to glance away with eyes that kept drawing back to Lucius’ face. “I can host you for the evening,”

“My men say I snore,” Brutus warned.

“I’ve been known to cuddle,” Lucius replied. Brutus rumbled a low laugh.

“I’m used to sleeping in a pile anyways,” he pointed out. Lucius blinked at him, processing the image of Brutus and his Mauler faction-mates all curled up next to each other. It sounded like an excellent idea.

“I’m afraid I’m not very soft,” Lucius pointed out.

“Don’t be stupid, you’re plenty soft,” Brutus ran a thumb across Lucius’ jaw. Lucius laughed and ran a hand through Brutus’ mane, enjoying how silky it felt between his fingers.

“You’re softer,” he pointed out.

“Jealous of my mane?” Brutus smirked. “Yours isn’t bad... but mine has more body,”

“That it does,” Lucius agreed, scooting closer to Brutus and without much fanfare, pressing his face into the mane. Brutus laughed and picked Lucius up, padding over to Lucius’ bedroll and sitting down on it. Lucius buried his face in Brutus’ fur, inhaling slowly and letting his eyelids slide shut.

“Not much of a night person, hmm?” Brutus rumbled under Lucius. Lucius laughed sleepily, sighing as Brutus placed a hand on the small of his back.

“We had a good battle today, a good victory,” he mumbled against Brutus’ skin, shifting a little to get comfortable on Brutus’ body. After a moment he rolled off of Brutus, but stayed pressed against him, stretching out on the shared bedroll.

“It was a stunning victory,” Brutus agreed, keeping his hand on Lucius’ lower back and stroking his skin with his thumb slowly. Lucius sighed pleasantly and resumed nuzzling Brutus’ mane. They fell silent for a few minutes as the outside lights were blown out, enveloping the tent in darkness. “Thank you,”

“For what?” Lucius asked sleepily.

“Grooming me,” Brutus explained, sounding oddly bashful. “Sleeping with me,”

Lucius lifted his head and tried to look at Brutus, not making out much aside from his shape in the darkness. Giving up, he flopped back next to Brutus and wiggled to get comfortable.

“Of course,” he murmured. “You’re pleasant company to groom and sleep with,”

“Won’t your brethren disapprove?” Brutus asked.

“Won’t yours?” Lucius countered.

“Hmmph. I’ll deal with mine,” Brutus shrugged.

“And I with mine,” Lucius yawned, his eyelids slipping shut again. Even though he had fought Brutus in the past, he felt safe in the Mauler’s arms.

Victory felt like a sun, but safety felt like the cool swath of night. 

**Author's Note:**

> I worked SO HARD to keep this clean. I hope y'all enjoyed.


End file.
